


the little things

by AquaMarixne



Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Character Study, Found Family, Gen, Kindergarten Teacher Ace, Law Student Sabo, Zoology Student Luffy, more tags to be added as the story goes, sabo and ace are overprotective
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:46:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25543084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquaMarixne/pseuds/AquaMarixne
Summary: "Ace winced. He could already imagine the noise complaints their neighbors would be sending them. And of course, he, the eldest, would have to deal with apologizing to cranky old people. Again."Luffy studies zoology and often gets in trouble for following some weird animal somewhere he shouldn't go. Ace is a kindergarten teacher and all the kids idolize him. Sabo wants to become a public defender to help people, driving his family of money-hungry attorneys crazy is just a bonus.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 58





	1. first day of class

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing these characters, so this will be a series of short stories about the boy's daily lives so I can get a better hang of their personalities before writing something with a bigger plot. Anyway, I've been having a lot of fun figuring out how to write these funky boys in my own way, so I hope you guys like it too :)  
> I changed some of the ages, Law, for example, is 23, the same age as Ace and Sabo, and Luffy is 19. Also, Ace's narcolepsy is mentioned a few times. I did research and all, but I'm not a professional, so if something is inaccurate please just let me know!

"IS THAT BACON???" Luffy's voice called from his room, followed immediately by a loud noise of several things falling.

Ace winced. He could already imagine the noise complaints their neighbors would be sending them. And of course, he, the eldest, would have to deal with apologizing to cranky old people. Again.

"Luffy! Quit breaking shit!" Ace yelled, adding a few more strips of bacon to the frizzling pan. 

Sabo snorted. The two brothers stood in the kitchen of the apartment they shared with their little brother near campus. They usually shared any and all kitchen-related chores, since Luffy's cooking was a health hazard. Their youngest was also known for breaking several dishes every time he tried to make himself useful and help them, so they decided to ban him from kitchen duties altogether.

Today it was Ace's turn to cook, which meant Sabo would be setting the table and cleaning everything up afterward.

"It really does work like a charm." the blonde said as he set three mismatched mugs on the table.

"Good thing that it does. I dunno how we'd get his ass out of bed if it wasn't for his freaky sense of smell." 

Before Sabo could reply, another loud noise cut him off. It was the same mess almost every morning. Luffy was apparently unable to use his shelves or his closet, choosing instead to leave all his stuff, from shoes to textbooks, on the floor. So when he tried to get up in the mornings, tangled in his blanket and still half asleep, he naturally tripped on absolutely everything within his reach.

"Luffy!" both men called, one slightly more annoyed than the other.

"Sorry, sorry." the youngest laughed, as he stumbled out of his room a moment later.

"Money doesn't grow on trees, you know. Stop breaking your shit."

"Don't be mean, Ace. You didn't get hurt or anything, right, Lu?"

"Nope!" Luffy beamed, "just tripped on my chair and dropped a few books."

"See? Nothing to worry about."

Ace rolled his eyes, putting the rest of the bacon on a plate and taking it to the table alongside the huge pile of pancakes he'd made earlier.

"You baby him too much, Sabo."

Now it was the blonde's turn to roll his eyes.

"You baby him just as much and you know it."

"Well I-"

"Whatever let's EAT." Luffy said, banging his knife and fork against the table.

Ace held the plates above his head. If he wasn't careful, Luffy would inhale all of the food before he even had the chance to sit down. Both him and Sabo had learned that the hard way.

"Nah ah. Hands off the table."

"But-"

Ace raised an eyebrow. That earned him a pout from the youngest, but he still set down the utensils and folded his hands on his lap. Sabo chuckled, watching the exchange as he filled his mug with coffee, pouring orange juice instead for Ace and Luffy. Caffeine didn't mix very well with his older brother's narcolepsy, and well, Luffy's natural level of energy was already enough to power a small town. 

Satisfied, the eldest brother set the plates on the table and took his seat. Luffy looked at him expectantly.

With a nod from Ace, the three started eating, reaching out to grab more food before they were even done with the first bite. A knock at the door caught their attention, but only long enough for the brothers to shout "It's open!" simultaneously between mouthfuls of pancakes and bacon.

"You could at least ask who it is before announcing to the whole building you sleep with your front door unlocked." Law sighed, stepping into the apartment and leaving his shoes at the door.

"Tora-"

"Don't even think about it." the other man raised his hand, "Swallow your food first."

Luffy shoved two whole pancakes into his mouth, before gulping everything down with a sip of juice and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Law scrunched up his nose in disgust.

"I thought we were gonna meet at the bus stop?"

"That was the agreement, yes. But I knew you would be late."

Luffy eyed the clock on the kitchen wall.

"It's still 7:25am tho. I still had 5 minutes."

"And yet here you are, still eating. I bet you didn't even shower yet."

Luffy took another huge bite of his food. Watching the aggressive way the other ate always made Law wonder how his friend never choked on his food.

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning to anyway."

"Gross, Lu. It's the first day of class." Sabo scolded halfheartedly, taking his mug and plate to the sink.

Luffy grabbed the last strip of bacon at the same time Ace reached for it, sticking his tongue out at his older brother and wincing as he got a flick to his forehead for his troubles. Ace scowled at him playfully, chuckling as he got up to hand Sabo the rest of the dishes.

"But I already showered yesterday," Luffy whined, still holding his hand to his forehead. He swore one day Ace would give him a concussion with how hard the other flicked his forehead.

"Yes, but... ah, you know what? That's not my problem." Law sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Just go get ready before we run late."

Luffy walked up to Law and threw his arm around the other's shoulder, standing on his tippy toes to make up for their height difference. The medical student made a face at the contact but didn't flinch or push Luffy away like he used to do when they had just met.

"Don't be so grumpy, Torao." He beamed, "It's the first day of class."

Law took a deep breath, eyeing the shorter man from the corner of his eye.

"If you make me late I will leave without you."

Luffy giggled, letting go of his grumpy friend.

"Okay, okay, just give me a sec."

Law watched him as he walked away and disappeared into his room. He wondered if Luffy would at least brush his teeth.

"I see you got the first round of babysitting duty." Ace said with a smile, handing Law a cup of coffee, "Thanks for keeping an eye on him."

Law accepted the cup with a nod. He had already had two cups this morning, but then again, he only managed to get three hours of sleep that night. And unless he wanted his friends to force him to take a nap between classes again, he should probably find a way to look less exhausted. 

"No need to thank me, keeping him from wandering into the woods following a weird beetle again is in everyone's best interest."

Ace laughed now, but back when that happened 2 years ago he had almost called the police when Luffy's friends texted him asking why his little brother had missed class and wasn't picking up his phone. It had taken several of Luffy's and his own friends to calm him down, and even so, he couldn't focus on anything else until his little brother came home several hours later, arms and hands scratched, hair a mess of leaves and sticks, shoes caked with mud, happily telling him about the cool pictures he was taking of a rare beetle before he fell off the tree and rolled down a hill. At the time, Ace had been torn between hugging his little brother with relief and smacking him on the head for being such a dumbass. 

"Still, thanks."

Law gave him a nod of acknowledgment and quickly looked away. Ace was still smiling at him and Law most definitely did not blush. Absolutely not.

"Drop it, Ace. You're embarrassing Luffy's friend." Sabo called over the sound of water running.

"What did I do?" 

"You're just too cute. If you keep being nice like that, you're gonna make the poor boy blush."

Ace snorted, picking up the dishrag from the counter and throwing it at his brother in retaliation. If he were younger, he might have thrown a chair at his brother for calling him cute. But now, at 23 years of age, he was perfectly aware of how much younger the freckles he inherited from his late mother made him look. He also knew trying to argue would only make Sabo tease him even more.

"I have a name." Law frowned, "And we're the same age."

Sabo threw him an impish grin over his shoulder.

"Of course you have a name, Luffy's friend. Everyone does."

Law felt his head begin to ache. Luffy's brothers could be an even bigger chore than Luffy himself. Especially Sabo. While much of what Law found annoying about Luffy was merely part of his personality, everything the blonde did seemed deliberate. It was like he enjoyed getting a rise out of people.

Ace rolled his eyes, pushing off the counter. He ran a hand through his wavy black hair, glancing at the clock. 

"Alright, it's almost time for me to go. You kids behave, I'm gonna go grab my stuff."

"Ace." Sabo called, turning off the faucet, "Did you remember to take your meds?"

Ace smiled at his brother, "Yeah, I took them, don't worry." 

"Good, I don't want the kids turning you into an art project again."

Both brothers chuckled at the memory. Just a few weeks into his new job as a kindergarten teacher assistant, he had one of his episodes. It had been a short one, he slept for less than 5 minutes. But it happened during finger painting time, while the main teacher was away... which resulted in 12 small children thinking Ace's face would be much more fun to paint than their sheets of paper. It was then that Ace decided taking a nap before each class might be a smart move.

"Aight I'm ready!" Luffy burst into the room, almost colliding with Ace.

"Hey, watch it." the eldest brother chided playfully, ruffling the Luffy's hair.

"Oops, sorry."

Law watched the scene play out, leaning against the wall. As much as a headache those three could be, the way his friend's whole face lit up when he looked at his siblings never failed to soften his mood a little. But only a little.

" 'Kay I'm ready, let's go Torao."

Law pushed off the wall, heading to the door to slip his boots back on.

"Took you long enough."

"Bye, you two, stay out of trouble." Ace called from his room.

"Bye Luffy, bye Luffy's friend!" 

And Law could just hear the grin in Sabo's voice. He took a deep breath and stopped himself from arguing. It was hopeless.

"Goodbye. Let's go, Luffy."

Luffy quickly slipped into his flip flops, grabbing his backpack and running to catch up to his moody friend, who was already out of the door. You could almost be fooled into thinking Law could teleport, with how quick he was to get out of uncomfortable situations. 

"Byee, see you guys later!" Luffy yelled from the hallway, the door slamming behind him.

Ace emerged from his room a moment later, bag hanging from his shoulder. He sighed. 

"At this rate, he's gonna end up taking the whole door with him."

Sabo put the last mug in the cabinet over the sink, turning to his brother with a smirk. He leaned against the counter, rolling down the sleeves of his button-up shirt.

"You're not much better, you know. Last week after you left in a hurry, the old lady from across the hall knocked and asked if we were trying to bring down the building."

Ace sat down by the door to put on his boots. He had to hurry if he wanted to have enough time for his pre-class nap. The teacher falling asleep in the classroom on the first day of the school year was definitely not a story he wanted the kids telling their parents over lunch.

"Whatever."

Sabo snorted, approaching his brother.

"You know, I think working with kids is making you into even more of a baby."

Ace rolled his eyes.

"You're lucky I don't have time to kick your ass right now."

"In your dre-"

"Anyway, aren't you gonna be late for class?"

Sabo stopped in his tracks. The professor of his first period wasn't exactly fond of him, so being late on the first day really wasn't an option. And he was only a semester away from graduating from law school, so he really didn't need yet another professor having it out for him. The blonde cursed, glancing at the clock. He had gotten too distracted teasing Luffy's friend, and now he had to run if he didn't want to miss his bus.

"See you later!" Ace called, throwing his bag over his shoulder.

He couldn't make out what exactly was Sabo's reply over the loud noises of textbooks being thrown around the room. Ace chuckled to himself. His brother really wasn't half as responsible as his fancy clothes led people to believe.


	2. aren't we friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part 2 (out of 4) of "first day of class", focused on Luffy (and Law).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said the next chapter wouldn't take too long but oh well lmao it is what it is I guess. Anyway!! I got hit with a sudden wave of inspiration that smashed my writers block to bits last night so here we are!! i hope you guys like it :)

"WAH IS THAT A-" Luffy suddenly felt an iron grip on the back of his t-shirt, dragging him back.

"No."

"But Torao-"

"Absolutely not."

"You're no fun," Luffy whined, crossing his arms, "The bug I saw looked like a really cool one."

Law took a deep breath, hand still firm on the back of Luffy's t-shirt. If he wasn't careful, the other would dash at the first opportunity and end up getting lost heaven knows where. The thought made Law wince. If he lost his younger friend, not only would they both get late and miss class, but he would also get an earful from their friends... and from Luffy's brothers too, which was... never good.

The two men had been waiting for their bus for a grand total of 5 minutes, and Law had already had to physically stop Luffy from running off several times. How he could have so much energy this early in the day remained a mystery to the med student, even after knowing him for so long.

"Anyway, Torao," Luffy turned to him, the subject of the bug suddenly forgotten, "Are you already busy with your doctor stuff?"

"Hm? Yeah, medical school can be very time consuming," Law frowned in thought, turning to his friend, "Why do you ask?"

Luffy looked at him. Really looked at him.

Uh oh. Nothing good could come from this.

"You don't look too good, you know."

Law turned away. Luffy could act like such a kid that sometimes Law forgot how perceptive he could be. Admittedly, he hadn't slept all that much these past few days... or weeks, for that matter, but no one else needed to know that. Still, it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. If he wanted to become a good doctor, he needed to compromise. 

Besides, it’s not like he had never cut down on a few hours of sleep because of school before, and it had always worked out well for him.

"I'm fine. You don't have to worry."

Luffy swatted his hand away from where it still gripped his shirt and stepped all the way into Law's personal space, brow furrowed. The older man was used to hiding his feelings and trying to shoulder everything by himself, Luffy knew that. They had been friends for a little over 2 years now, and Law had only recently learned to drop a few of his emotional barriers around their group of friends. It was true that old habits died hard, but Luffy wasn't going to let his friend get away with shutting him out when he so obviously needed help.

"Torao."

"What."

Luffy gave him a pointed look, not faltering in the slightest under Law’s withering glare. The older man sighed. He really should have already learned by now that Luffy simply wouldn't let something go until he got his way. Especially when it came to a friend’s well-being.

Law took a deep breath, closing his eyes. That’s how life works, he told himself, sometimes you just have to pick your battles.

"Fine. Maybe... Maybe I've been putting some extra pressure on myself to study more." 

Even without looking at Luffy, Law could tell the other was frowning at him. He made a face, seriously considering being the one to run to the woods for once. Having someone worry about him like that and check on whether or not he was eating all his meals still felt a bit foreign to him, and every time he had to fight the gut instinct of just telling his friends to piss off.

"Torao," Luffy called, frowning when the dark-haired man wouldn't look at him.

Luffy smacked him on the head.

"What the hell was that for?" Law complained, turning to look at Luffy. Finally.

"It's what you do when you think I'm being dumb, isn't it?"

"I-"

"No."

Law mentally cursed at himself. He walked straight into that one, didn’t he?

"Aren't we friends?" Luffy inquired, an accusatory look in his eyes.

"... yes," Law replied, a contracting feeling deep inside his chest.

"Then don't shut me out."

Luffy didn't fully understand what it was that made people isolate themselves when they were in trouble. He had grown up always having people who loved him and on whom he could rely, be it his brothers or family friends like Makino and Dadan. Hell, he could even rely on his grandpa for a few things, on the rare occasions the Navy officer was around. But between Ace, Nami, Robin and Sanji, Luffy had more than enough experience dealing with closed-off people to know when they needed just a bit of an extra push to accept help. 

Luffy watched Law, waiting patiently as the taller man seemed to be having an intense argument with himself on whether or not he should speak

"You're... right." Law sighed, hesitantly.

Luffy beamed at him. “See? It wasn’t so hard.”

“Ugh. You’re... impossible.”

Luffy noticed when Law turned his head slightly away from him, trying to hide the soft curve at the corner of his lips, but he didn’t mention it. 

“But seriously, Torao,” Luffy started, his tone a bit softer than before. “I know how much becoming a good doctor means to you, I do. But you need to take care of yourself too. ”

Law was about to protest that yes, he was taking care of himself just fine, but stopped. That was a big fat lie and even he knew it. Indeed, he had been more and more exhausted each day, and his headaches were getting more frequent too, now that he thought about it.

“You really look like you’re not sleeping well,” and then, in a more accusatory tone, “or eating. What would you do if a patient was acting the way you are right now?”

Law suppressed a groan. It really was worse than he thought.

“Look, I’ll handle it, okay?”

Luffy narrowed his eyes at him.

“I will. Just give me a little time to organize my schedule.”

“Okay.”

“ Really I-” Law stopped. “Wait, what?”

“I said okay.”

It was Law’s turn to eye him suspiciously. That was just too easy. And absolutely nothing was ever easy with Luffy. He knew very well how stubborn and bull-headed the other could be, so there just had to be a catch somewhere-

“Just remember,” Luffy turned away, voice laced with mischief, “If you break your promise... I’ll tell Sanji and Chopper a thing or two about how you’re not eating right.”

And there it was. If Sanji found out just how many meals Law was skipping, he’d never hear the end of it. And Chopper, as a fellow medical student, would be even worse. Heaven knew how much their youngest friend worried about all of them, and Law really didn’t feel like getting scolded like a kid in front of everyone for not taking care of his health. Again.

“Fine. I’ll try to sleep a few more hours and eat my damn vegetables. Happy?”

Luffy threw an arm around his neck, dragging Law down a little with a big grin on his face.

“Yup.”

A moment later their bus arrived. Law spent the ride mostly silent, just humming and nodding in acknowledgment while Luffy excitedly went off about what he had gotten up to during the past month. The younger man usually spent the first half of summer break in town, with his friends, but on the second half his grandpa was always keen on spending some quality time with his brats, dragging Luffy and Ace (and in the past few years Sabo, too) to the mountains for some reasonable and healthy family activities (according to Garp himself) like camping without equipment or supplies. 

Soon, they reached the stop near the building Luffy had his classes at. It was a big campus and the medical building was a few blocks always, so Law stayed on the bus as Luffy hopped off, not before promising to his younger friend not to skip lunch and meet with everyone else at their usual spot.

Now that he was out of Luffy’s line of sigh, Law let a small, fond smile twist the corner of his lips. He’d never tell that to the other’s face but… maybe having such a stubborn, nosy friend wasn’t all that bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for today guys, i hope yall liked it :))  
> oh and btw this chapter's work title was "law is dumb and luffy wont let him get away with it"


End file.
